there we go marvin! we need keenan in the mix, pronto. i said i like the over before, but i was just kidding. i really like the under.

eric

No guts, no glory. I think I would have gone for it on 4th and short at the 7. If we miss it, AZ is back deep. If we make, and score a TD, that might be the game.

abe

Eric, in case you have not been watching the game this is a purely defensive battle, you take what you get. think about lets say we go for it and get the first, then what? it would be 1st and goal from the 5. what is the chance of Cal scoring a TD, still very slim. not worth the risk. now if this was on the goal line, like a 4th and goal, definitely go for it.

Eric

Of course it is a defensive game, so that could have been the break. AZ started to put together a good drive, but some bad throws by Foles and a great sack made the stop.

Sad that 1st and goal at the 5 = very slim chance to make a TD, but I guess I can’t disagree.

But we’re driving – need to keep running hard.

Tdogg

The OL is dominating right now. We are pounding the ball down their throat. Let’s keep pounding it!

rollonubears

this is why you go for it on 4th and 1 at the opponent’s 10. tedford, if the d can’t hold this one up, this one’s on you.

Tdogg

Wow, Tavechio missed 2 FGs. That’s pretty bad.

Eric

Let’s hope that earlier 4 and short decision doesn’t come back to bite us.

1. The offense just refuses to ram the ball down the opponents throats and insisted on throwing on third and shorts. The failure of Riley to run on that 3 and 4 play when he had wide open space, leading to Arizona getting a cheap 3 points, is glaring.

2. Notwithstanding a couple of interesting trick play,s when it really, truly mattered, Tedford chose the conservative path, and paid the price. In the Alabama/Arkansas game, up 24-20, Nick Saban went for it at his 50 yard on 4th and 1, knowing he his team’s running game in the 4th quarter had been crushing Arkansas, and he got it. Game over. And that is why Saban is worth the millions paid to him.

CoBears

Tavecchio just isn’t consistent enough to put the entire game on his shoulders. That goalpost ping was the game for us. To not score on a 40 yard FG is a killer in this kind of a low-scoring game.

SonOfBigAl

Not that it ended up mattering, but there were some serious clock infractions that both seemed to work against Cal at the time:

First at 2:39, after 2nd down, UofA calls timeout, then Cal comes out and runs a running play, after which UofA immediately calls timeout. The play probably took a good 6-8 seconds…but the clock read 2:39 after the play when it went to the next timeout…

Then, after the Cats scored and it Cal NEEDED more time on the clock, Keenan Allen made a reception and got out of bounds at about the 42 second mark…but the clock didn’t actually stop until 36.7 seconds…after which Riley’s pass was tipped and intercepted, so again it didn’t change the outcome, but seriously fishy!!

Run your DVR back and see if I’m not right…

And Cal has GOT to have someone in these tight situations standing right next to Tedford who’s only job is to watch the clock and let the coaches know they need to say something to the refs…

Eric

Rollon – you are, of course, right, but expect to see a number of posts lambasting you for daring to criticize such “guru.”

Pug

I cringe every time Tavecchio walks on the field. Tonight he cost the Bears an ugly, close game. He makes either of those field goals, especially the short one, and the Bears win.

selppataei

i’m more mad at the playcalling on the last set of downs of the last series, especially on on third and 7. this is on tedford/ludwig and not tavecchio. not a whole lot of good kickers out there, even in div 1-a.

Juancho

That 4th and 1 decision was tough. Pretty memorable moment when Tedford had to call a timeout because Riley called the wrong play and he told him ” what the hell did you think we called ? ”

Falling apart.

Easy Ed

I am a class of ’78 So Cal. I live less than 3 miles from the Rose Bowl and I’ve waited now for 32 years to spend January 1st there watching my Golden Bears play. I believed in my heart that this can’t last forever, I mean we’ve had good teams, no, great teams (’91 and ’04) but still no Holy Grail! We are cursed, it’s like being a Chicago Cub fan or a Cleveland Brown fan. Logic says that it will not happen yet we still hope. I love Coach Tedford for the respectability that he has brought to our program and I’ve defended him more than once over the years so this is hard to say but MY GOD Coach, get a clue and bench Riley. He doesn’t have it and after 27 starts he never will.

Larry

I told my wife on that last drive, “watch Riley will throw a INT or fumble the ball” and look what happens! Motherf…..r!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ayoob,Longshore, now Riley, Tedford ain’t no GURU.

dk

for heavens sakes, FIRE LUDWIG. what the HELL was tedford thinking when he hired him? the O looked absolutely spineless today. its just hilarious watching the team fall apart.

Larry

I just realized that CAL will NEVER go to the Rose Bowl with Tedford as the head coach. Sorry, but that is the truth.

Easy Ed

I have a neat idea, Let’s start a pool. $500 in the pot for each pass that Riley throws on the money. My guess is that at the end of the year we won’t have enough money to buy a Top Dog!

Dan

Odd… where are all Tedford apologists and defenders that were all over Tedford critics just this AM?

Again, I am not saying fire Tedford, but I will say what has become evident for 4+ seasons-
With Tedford as Cal’s head coach….

Cal will never win the conference title
Cal will never go to the Rose Bowl
Cal will lose too many winnable games
Cal will choke away games on the road
Cal will blow a lot of games they should win
Cal will frequently look lost or incompetent in 1,2,or all 3 phases of the game
Cal (Tedford) will play not to lose, instead of having some guts and playing to win (with no fear)

Cal is not holding serve. They are moving backwards with their play, while Stanford, UCLA, UofA and UW are moving up. SC, Oregon, OSU have already been better than Cal the past few years. Utah is on the way, Cal can’t beat them. ASU even looks really good, like they are improving. Not good.

If you want to know what appears ahead, look at the last 2-3 years of Cal hoops under Ben Braun.

Tdogg

Yep, that 4th and 1 was a killer. Shoulda called a QB sneak and all Riley had to do was fall forward. Horrible game. But I’m not ready to call it a lost season. There’s still a lot of football left. By the way, Tedford did win a share of the conference title in 2006 but of course we didn’t go to the Rose Bowl due to the tiebreaker. Heartbreaker city tonight…